Engineering consultancy M-EC has acquired counterpart AcousticAir for an undisclosed fee. The purchase will see M-EC absorb AcousticAir into its main business, acquiring a new office in Brighton in the process.

With a weakened pound amid Brexit uncertainty meaning that previous pricing premiums have been reduced, the UK engineering consulting space has been a lucrative prospect for investment over the past 12 months. In 2017, British professional services firm Atkins announced that the SNC-Lavalin Group had completed its £2.1 billion acquisition of the firm, allowing the Canadian firm a stake in the international infrastructure, transportation and energy sectors.

In the latest acquisition in the UK industry, AcousticAir has been absorbed into rival engineering consultancy M-EC’s main business, combining this firm’s expertise with that of the existing M-EC team. M-EC is one of the leading consulting development engineers in the UK, operating nationwide for both the private and public sectors including residential, commercial, industrial, retail, leisure, education and healthcare clients. The firm currently employs over 90 people, including highly qualified engineering and environmental professionals and 20 apprentices across all disciplines.

Following the acquisition of Acoustic Air, the expanded team has been re-branded as M-EC Acoustic Air. As part of the acquisition M-EC has also acquired AcousticAir’s offices in Brighton; a key location for the company’s ongoing expansion plans and further geographical spread across the UK. The new location for M-EC follows hot on the heels of the firm’s opening of its new Hugglescote, Leicester headquarters in 2017. The firm also has offices in Nottingham; a recently launched Leeds locale; relocated, larger Birmingham spaces and recently expanded hubs in Milton Keynes, as the firm continues to expand.

The Southern UK’s M-EC AcousticAir team will be headed by noise and air quality consultant, Neil Forsdyke, undertaking noise, vibration, acoustic and odour consultancy services, alongside Associate Director (Noise and Air Quality) Rosie James . In the near future, it is anticipated that the office will expand the services it offers in line with the company’s key capabilities which presently include infrastructure design; structural engineering design, transportation planning, flood risk and hydrology services, among others.

M-EC Managing Director Eddie Mewies said of the deal, "When the opportunity to acquire an established business to augment our existing team of experts, including a strategically located office in the south presented itself, we decided the time was right to take that leap of faith. We are more than happy to bring this project forward, as the current expansion of the business coinciding with the opportunity to launch in Brighton seemed too good to miss."